Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - Behind impressive performances by Meghan Bonk and Katie Dennehy, the University of Delaware volleyball team defeated the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore, 3-1 (25-18, 28-26, 22-25, 28-26), during a non-conference showdown at Viera Court on Wednesday night.

Bonk (at right) posted 11 kills without a single attack error for a stellar .458 hitting percentage, while Dennehy recorded a match-high 18 kills and 10 digs for her fourth double-double performance of the season.

With the victory, the Blue Hens (7-12) saw two streaks come to an end. The win snapped Delaware's two-match skid and ended the Hawks' 10-match winning streak.

Delaware set the tone early, using an ace by Jess Chason to kick-off the contest before a block by Dennehy and Elena Delle Donne followed by two UMES errors gave the Blue Hens an early 4-0 advantage.

Although the Hawks entered the match winless against Delaware in their only previous two meetings, they held their own despite the early deficit. Eventually, behind a sustained rally capped off by a block from Christine Edwards and Samantha Chukwura, UMES (15-7) tied the set at 12. Three rallies later, the team took its first lead of the game at 14-13.

Despite the mid-set troubles, Delaware regrouped. Four straight points, highlighted by a Greta Gibboney ace, forced UMES to call a timeout trailing by three at 17-14. The stoppage only helped Delaware as the team grabbed eight of the last 12 points to post a 25-18 victory that was fittingly ended by another Chason ace.

In the second frame, Dennehy dominated from the start to give the team a nice early cushion. Following five quick kills, the sensational sophomore blasted her first ace of the contest to give the team a seven-point lead at 14-7.

UMES fought its way back into the set, however, using two three-point runs to pull within two at 17-15. Later, the Hawks got back-to-back kills from Caylin Woodward and Christine Edwards to pull within one at 21-20. Although Delaware won three of the next four rallies to earn set-point at 24-21, UMES answered and stayed alive by taking three in-a-row to tie it at 24.

Still tied at 26 apiece, the Blue Hens survived the late scare after a Hawk error gave Delaware another set-point before Delle Donne iced the victory with a kill at 28-26.

Refusing to go down quietly, the Hawks battled hard in the beginning of the third frame. After earning eight ties in the early going, UMES broke away with a four-point streak to grab a 15-11 advantage. The visitors controlled the set from there, only seeing Delaware pull within three on a handful of occasions before earning the 25-22 win.

UMES kept the momentum in the beginning of the fourth set after Christina Estebane' put on an impressive show by firing three-straight aces to give the team a 6-2 lead. Following a Blue Hen timeout, Bonk blasted two quick kills and Dennehy eventually notched two of her own to pull Delaware even at 10. Still knotted at 14, the Hawks won three straight rallies to retake the lead at 17-14.

Delaware answered with its own three-point surge after Dennehy and Delle Donne posted back-to-back kills before Paige Erickson notched her second ace of the game to tie the set at 20.

Despite back-to-back blocks by Delle Donne that gave the Hens set-point at 24-23, the team could not put the game away. Both squads continued to trade blows until Delaware finally pulled ahead for good when Stewart fired a kill and Erickson and Chason teamed up for the match-clinching block to seal the victory with a 28-26 win.

Chason had a well-rounded performance, finishing with 43 assists, four blocks, three kills, and two aces. DelleDonne also recorded a career-high seven blocks, while Steph Barry had 24 digs.

UMES was led by two double-double performers as Caylin Woodward had 17 digs and 11 kills, while Christine Edwards had 17 kills and 15 digs. Christina Estebane' also had four aces and 17 digs for the Hawks.

Delaware will return to action on Friday when the team continues its conference slate by hosting Towson at 7 p.m.